Roggeveld Plateau
The Bokkeveld Plateau is an area in the Northern Cape. It harbours possibly the highest densities of geophytes (bulbous plants) in the world, and hence is referred to by the locals as The Bulb Capital of the World. These bulbs occur mainly in the mountain renosterveld, to a lesser degree in the succulent karoo vegetation, and least of all in the mountain fynbos. Around the town of Nieuwoudtville heavy grazing in the renosterveld suppresses the growth of perennials leading to spring displays of annuals and bulbs. Most of the rainfall occurs in winter and spring with peak flowering varying considerably from year to year, but typically between August and September. In March the autumn flowering hysteranthus (flowers appear when the leaves are dormant) Amaryllidaceae put on a spectacular display.
Nodes
Disperis purpurata
Corycium deflexum
Gladiolus orchidiflorus
Zaluzianskya
Hemimeris nana
Hermannia
Pelargonium moniliforme
Babiana spathacea
Pterygodium hallii
Pages
Taxonomy term
Pelargonium
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Gk. pelargos = a stork; referring to the beak of the fruit which resembles a stork’s bill (cf Geranium, Erodium).
Plantago
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La. plantagin- = foot-sole-like; referring to the broad, flat leaves lying close on the ground.
Poaceae
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Named after the genus Poa. Poa is Greek for grass.
Polyxena
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For Polyxena, the name of a daughter of Priam, the last king of Troy and his queen, Hecuba.
Pteronia
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Gk. pteron = a wing; probably referring to seeds which are wind-dispersed.
Rhus
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Gk. rhous, from rhodos = red (the word can be traced back for centuries); referring to the fruits or autumn leaves of some species.
Romulea
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For the legendary Romulus, founder and first king of Rome.
Romulea
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For the legendary Romulus, founder and first king of Rome.
Romulea
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For the legendary Romulus, founder and first king of Rome.
Romulea atrandra
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Romulea tetragona
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From the Latin ‘tetragona’ / ‘tetragonus’ meaning ‘having four sides’
Romulea tortuosa
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From the Latin meaning 'twisted'
Sebaea
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For Albertus Seba (1665–1736), Dutch pharmacist, zoologist and naturalist. In 1700, he opened an ‘apothecary shop’ in Amsterdam and collected exotic plants and animal products from sailors and ship surgeons from which he could make ‘medicines’. In 1716, he sold his first collection (as well as the Dutch botanist Frederik Ruysch’s collection) to the Russian Tsar, Peter the Great, on his visit to the Netherlands. Seba immediately set about building an even larger collection. In 1734, he published his magnificently illustrated four-volume Thesaurus (1734, 1735), with 446 plates (2 volumes published posthumously), which displays marine animals, insects and reptiles. Linnaeus must have seen this collection when he visited Seba twice in 1735. Seba became a Fellow of Royal Society in 1728.
Senecio
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La. senex = an old man. The white, hairy pappus of the seeds is reminiscent of an old man’s beard.
Spiloxene serrata
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From the Latin serratus = ‘serrated’ or 'saw-toothed'. Each tooth is angled more on one side than the other (forward pointing) as compared with dentate which is equally angled on both sides forming triangular teeth.